The art of blurring

Working the image or motif in such a way as to give it an indefinite character, playing with tools or scales to modify reality, bringing sensations to life through a gesture or repeated writing: blur is a singular art form. Breaking away from figurative art, but not in the realm of abstraction, these works deserve redoubled attention. What is there to see in Léa Belooussovitch's colored pencil drawings on felt-tip pen? What's the point of Armelle de Sainte Marie's works on paper, made with an often-repeated hatching gesture? You have to look at the titles of the works to grasp the subject. The first is based on violent news images, which she reframes and redraws in her own way. The second seeks to depict atmospheres, worlds, seascapes or forests. For Houston Maludi, it's the accumulation of details that leads to a form of indeterminacy. From a distance, the compositions resemble an abstract motif. Up close, an urban landscape comes to life. Charles Le Hyaric, for his part, seeks to mimic "what we perceive of this great whole called nature". He entitles his canvas "Ouvrir les yeux sous l'eau" ("Open your eyes under water"). And everything naturally becomes a blur. English artist Jack Warne, who suffers from a hereditary corneal disease, manipulates the source photographic image to create compositions in which real objects stand out. These works are best viewed with eyes half-closed, to gain new insights into our world and theirs.